The present invention relates to conveyor belts of the articulated chain conveyor type which can be guided around curves and, in particular, to means for providing an article-support conveying surface for the conveyor belt.
Articulated chain conveyors have, in the past, been provided with a wide variety of support mechanisms either fixedly or detachably secured to the chain for providing an article-support conveying surface, many of which maintained the conveyed articles out of contact with the conveyor chains. Several such conveyors utilize wire rod structures for providing the conveying surface, exemplary prior art systems being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,206, issued to H. H. Stewart et al. on June 18, 1963, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,493, issued to D. M. Kerr on Apr. 4, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,059, issued to H. Ackermann on Jan. 2, 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,406, issued on Oct. 7, 1975 to W. O. Pulver et al., as well as in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,969, issued on Oct. 22, 1974. Each of these prior art systems requires the use of a specially designed attachment mechanism for mounting the wire rod support members on the links of the chain conveyor. Many of these wire rod support members cannot be utilized with articulated chain conveyors with socketed link interconnection pins. Thus, heretofore, use of conveyors with wire rod support members has necessitated extensive costs in inventory not only of the support members, but also of specially designed articulated chains and attachment members.
Applicant's assignee manufactures and sells a line of articulated chain conveyors comprising a plurality of links interconnected by pins or rod end bearings which are either hollow or are provided with axial sockets therein as illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,214,007, issued to W. Matthies et al. on Oct. 26, 1955 and 3,237,756, issued to W. C. Pulver on Mar. 1, 1966. Those patents disclose wire rod supports spanning the parallel chains of a two-chain conveyor and having the ends thereof received in the pin sockets.